Running Hot by Yolande Kleinn

Author:Yolande Kleinn [Kleinn, Yolande]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781634775250
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

KURT DIDN’T know what to expect when he and Lena arrived at Sharp’s Pub, nine o’clock on Friday night. He was familiar with the place but hadn’t set foot inside for at least two years. His own buddies held loyal to a couple smaller dives in easy walking distance from Trench Auto, and Kurt wasn’t big on noisy crowds anyway.

Tonight the place was packed to bursting with an energetic evening crowd, and it was a feat getting close enough to the bar to order drinks. Cider for Lena, a local stout for Kurt. Simple needs. He knew Lena would switch over early from cider to soda in order to make good on her promise, whether anyone needed a ride or not.

They found Shane without difficulty, at a cluster of booths near the pool tables. He wasn’t holding court the way Kurt expected of a birthday guest of honor. Instead Shane sat amid a smaller gang of faces Kurt didn’t recognize, probably work friends. Shane was smiling at their jokes, laughing with genuine warmth, but he seemed content to let the conversation flow around him. He sat in a corner of his booth, with a nearly empty glass in one hand and quiet amusement alight in his eyes.

Shane’s face brightened when he caught sight of Lena and Kurt. He turned to the stocky man sitting beside him, murmuring something too low for Kurt to make out from a distance. A moment later the man grinned and slid out of the booth, leaving Shane alone on the bench.

Shane smiled wider as he waved Kurt and Lena over.

“Happy birthday,” Lena said, sliding into the booth beside Shane. She hugged him tightly in the narrow space, then turned to glance over her shoulder at Kurt.

“Here.” Shane laughed and took Lena by the arm. “We can—Let’s just—” Kurt had no idea what Shane was trying to convey, but Lena seemed to understand. After an awkward shuffling of limbs that looked a little like Shane was trying to pull her into his lap, somehow Lena ended up on Shane’s other side, scooted right up against the wall. The bench was barely wide enough for three, but Shane was already gesturing at Kurt to take the empty space beside him.

Kurt sat, wondering if he should have brought a gift. He’d figured he could just buy Shane a drink, and at a glance he didn’t see any bags or packages or discarded wrapping paper, but as he settled on the creaking bench cushion he wondered just the same.

The noisy rumble of surrounding conversation hadn’t lessened with Kurt and Lena’s arrival, but Kurt felt curious eyes on him just the same. He didn’t know any of these people, even by reputation. Shane didn’t come to the garage to talk about work, after all. He came to talk about cars. And Kurt felt out of place among unfamiliar peers.

“Okay.” Shane raised his drink and drained the last of it in a smooth swallow, and when he set it aside, a friend put another in his hand.

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